Following our recent visit to Vanuatu, a colleague put this together, reflecting the heartfelt concern ni-Van’s have for their rapidly dwindling land ownership. Just 29 years since independence, only 11% of land in Villa is locally owned. As Morris Kaloran states: “No matter what factory they use, they cant make any more dirt.” We will [...]

Last night’s Insight focused on the tragedy unfolding in the housing market and it’s effects on the rest of the economy. It was good to see that Housing Supply side issues got some time on air, but again the property lobby had large numbers in the crowd, no NGO’s got a guernsey, the omnipresent Ross [...]

Andrew Sadauskas It was a cold Thursday morning when I set out on my quest. My mission? To find the heart of Melbourne’s housing affordability and traffic problems. My quest took me to the middle of Melbourne’s great southeastern sprawl, which now stretches as far as Pakenham. After a morning spent hunting for it on [...]

by Dave Wetzel

The income from fares is usually insufficient to pay for both the capital costs and operating expenses of a modern mass transit system.

Public transportation managers strive to provide safe, efficient, affordable, reliable, comfortable, clean, and convenient journeys for passengers. The service provided not only enables millions of people to travel but also has wider economic, social, and environmental impacts on urban life.

When planning for new public transportation investments, wider economic benefits are usually cited as an important reason for governments to provide subsidies towards the costs of construction and maintenance.

Hobart has made it into the big league! – Leo Foley
Jan 23, The Mercury

House prices have pushed us into the top 20 of unaffordable cities in the world.
After seven years of boom, the legacy of this government, elected by ordinary
working people, will be a city owned by the elites.

It need not be so. House building is a competitive industry, and with proper
foresight on trade skills, costs will always tend to rise only in line with wages
and the general price index.

The real ‘boom’ has been in land price. Speculation in real estate has pushed
land beyond the price of Tasmanian wages. Young Tasmanian families are excluded
from the market. That demands government action, not with more subsidies and
grants that benefit only existing owners, but real tax reform that will overcome
the existing market failure.

Associate Professor (Economics) Graeme Wells points the way in his letter,
23 January. He says “There would be significant efficiency gains in moving from
the present transactions tax to a flat-rate land tax.” Not only would it be
efficient, it would also be equitable.

The Labor government, under pressure on so many fronts, still has the opportunity
to create conditions of prosperity for all Tasmanians, and to make home ownership
a reality for following generations. Will it rise to the occasion?

Leo Foley
Lenah Valley, Tasmania
Justice the Aim